Jun 19 Get Ahead On Academics This Summer

HOW TOP STUDENTS USE SUMMER TO GET AHEAD

Yes, summer is a time to decompress, travel and attend competitive programs (applied to long ago in the winter…), but our top students also use summer to increase their edge academically. Here’s how they do it...

DON'T START OFF 9TH GRADE WITH A C IN GEOMETRY…Geometry poses a major conceptual shift for many of our 9th graders. Many students get the hang of proofs and theorems by the spring, but those fall 9th grade grades still show up on transcripts that go to colleges. Our top kids preview geometry in August by doing the first month or two of their course with a tutor they love. Unlike their peers, these students start 9th grade with As in geometry.

AND DON'T START OFF 10TH GRADE CONFUSED ABOUT CHEMISTRY...For all but our exceptional science students, chemistry seems like a big jump from the comfort of memorization-heavy Biology. One of our most popular subjects to preview, chemistry requires a strong conceptual underpinning to succeed right off the bat. Those who cover the trickiest stuff in August have an easier fall.

WRITE, WRITE, WRITE…Still have no idea why your children’s teachers keep saying their essays are “too descriptive?” Still have a child confused about exactly what analysis is? A kid who has anxiety about impending long research papers or summer writing? Many of our most driven students use summer to enrich their writing skills and create systems to streamline their processes (or develop processes if they don't already have them).

DON'T MISS OUT ON CALCULUS SENIOR YEAR...Top schools expect calculus (at a minimum!) from their seniors, so any student who isn’t on track for calculus in school opts to use our tutors to do intensive courses (in Algebra II or Pre-Calculus) so that they can place into higher level math courses come fall. We design the courses, administer quizzes and tests, and prep kids for placement tests so that they aren’t behind when it counts.

In our experience, September and October bring with them the lowest grades of high school as students adjust to harder classes, new concepts, and different teachers. We can make sure that your kids have an easy transition, and we can customize a program around other summer plans. Give us a call or shoot us an email to get started!